


Wake from your Nightmares

by AngryPirateHusbands



Category: Black Sails
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Nightmares
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-06 19:26:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8765953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AngryPirateHusbands/pseuds/AngryPirateHusbands
Summary: Captain Flint's tireless ability to defy all odds and deliver the crew from certain death would never cease to amaze Billy. It was a gift, truly. Time and time again the Walrus was set upon a course that would surely see them to their graves were they any other crew. Had they had any other captain, any other quartermaster. And as the gate to their latest prison was unlocked and left ajar, and one by one each member of their crew tentatively stepped beyond the confines of their cage, it appeared he had done it yet again.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [OnlyOneWoman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyOneWoman/gifts).



Captain Flint's tireless ability to defy all odds and deliver the crew from certain death would never cease to amaze Billy. It was a gift, truly. Time and time again the _Walrus_ was set upon a course that would surely see them to their graves were they any other crew. Had they had any other captain, any other quartermaster. And as the gate to their latest prison was unlocked and left ajar, and one by one each member of their crew tentatively stepped beyond the confines of their cage, it appeared he had done it yet again. Billy was careful with his steps as he approached the railing to look below. One of the Maroon men was returning the black leather coat to around Flint's shoulders before the captain gave another a firm handshake.

_Son of a bitch..._

Already Silver was hobbling passed him down the wooden stairs, no doubt seeking a word. When Billy turned away from them Ben Gunn was standing by his side. A familiar look of awe rested upon those soft features. It was an expression the bosun had come to know well during his many years aboard the _Walrus_. Every man had displayed it at one point or another. Even Silver, and especially himself. That countenance that was a seamless mixture of confusion and wonderment, and then biting unease when they eventually began to wonder just what else this man was capable of. Billy gave him a reassuring pat against his shoulder before going down to join the captain and quartermaster.

While he was certain the men wanted nothing more to do than rest easy and take solace in their newfound freedom, there was much work to be done. This new partnership was on unsteady footing to say the least. They would all need to do much to prove themselves as worthy allies. Or at the very least as necessary. But even if it weren't, if it was rock solid, the repairs necessary for the ship were numerous. They had been tossed so roughly in that storm that the repairs to the masts and sails, not to mention the hull, would take weeks. There was no time for rest or the delay that would result.

By the time the sun had set the crewmen were gathered about a small campfire. A few held tankards, but most were clutching the cooked rabbit and fish as they sought to sate their bellies. While the shark had brought them back from the brink of starvation, they were still incredibly weak and malnourished. They had spent the day doing what work they could. Filling the holes that had been blown in the hull and refilling their stores with fresh water. Tomorrow they would take a look at the beaten sails while a few of the men joined the camp's hunting party. But now that the sky had been shrouded in darkness they needed to focus on regaining their strength. They would certainly need it for the battle ahead.

Billy had eaten his fill and now the tall man meandered through their makeshift camp alongside the docks. The captain had been granted a shack but the rest would make due with tents and bedrolls. Not that any of them could find the ability to complain. Anything was an improvement on the splintered wood of their crowded pen. Even Billy was certain that tonight would be the most restful sleep he would get in quite some time. These past few weeks had been a persistent nightmare. Each time it appeared that they had made a stride the situation had only drawn more dire. Even now the man found himself scrutinizing their current situation, as if waiting for the next unfortunate turn. As he made his way through the crowd he quickly took notice of a missing face.

"Where's Ben Gunn?" Billy asked, kneeling down.

DeGroot gave a shrug as he tore himself away from his dinner. "The blond man that had arrived here before us?" he asked. He sucked a stray shred of meat from his thumb.

"That's the one."

"Hmm.. Saw the man speaking with Mr. Silver not too long ago. Wasn't quite paying attention, but sounded like he wasn't too keen on spending the night here. Wished to remain on deck with the watch." Billy's brow knitted at the information. The sailing master seemed to have noticed his confused gaze. "After what he went through here, I don't blame the man for not wanting to set foot back on the beach."

* * *

 

Billy spent the following day up on deck assisting the men with the rigging. The ropes had been torn to shreds from the storm and the sails weren't in much better condition. It didn't help that two of the men that had been killed during their imprisonment had been in charge of the rigging. Fortunately for them, Ben Gunn knew how to secure and tie the sails better than the back of his hand. The man was a natural, truly. The way he climbed the rigging and moved along the masts was not unlike a cat treading along a window sill. He maneuvered with a certain grace and the confidence he possessed in his ability to climb and balance while working was unmistakable. There was no doubt that the man would be a vital asset to the crew. Not just due to their loss in numbers but for his skill alone. By the time the sails were set straight and bundled up for the night, the sun had set low beyond the horizon. While the rest of the men returned to the camp for eat their fill and sleep off their exhaustion, Billy decided to stay aboard. He was far too tired to deal with the rest of the men tonight. Not to mention he found the hammocks far more comfortable than those bedrolls around the fire.

Billy had always been a light sleeper. Ever since he was torn from his parents and his home as a child, even the slightest unusual noise would coax him from his slumber. While troubling at first, he had long grown used to it. The snores and groans of his fellow crewmen no longer awoke him on a regular basis. And even when they did he was soon able to drift back to sleep. Now, however, he awoke for a different reason. He wasn't quite sure the exact noise that had roused him from his sleep, but as his eyes opened he thought he may have heard it again: Hitched, rapid breathing, as if someone had suddenly awoken from a nightmare. And quite a vivid one. Within moments that disconcerting sound had given way to shuffling, the groan of ropes and then the soft padding of bare feet against the floorboards. Even if all of the crew had decided to sleep below deck instead of on the island, there was no mistaking who it could be. If the curiously light footsteps didn't give him away, the silhouette of hair past his shoulders certainly did.

Billy watched Ben Gunn's retreat with curiosity but remained silent all the same. However, as the minutes dragged on and he hadn't yet returned, the bosun could feel a discernible knot forming in his belly. Concern? He stared up at the ceiling for several more long moments, listening to the creaking of the ship and the gentle waves that rocked against its side. Finally he made a decision. Legs swung over the side of his hammock before tugging on his boots and making his way up the stairs to the deck.

It was easy enough to spot the man. The moon was full and new, and the warm glow it cast illuminated his form from where he leaned against the railing on the quarterdeck. Billy made no effort to mask the sound of his approach, the heavy footfall of boots against the deck, yet even so Ben visibly started when he appeared beside him. This only caused his concern to deepen.

"You alright?"

Ben reached up to comb his fingers back through his hair. Though there was no evidence that the man had been crying, he could see even in the low light how glassy his eyes were.

"Nightmares," the man answered simply. Even that one word carried the lilt of his Scottish accent. The lump in his throat bobbed slowly as Ben swallowed, eyes downcast as he put more of his weigh against the rail.

"You've been avoiding the camp."

"I have." As Ben spoke he didn't meet his gaze. Instead he looked out over the water, his fingers fidgeting as he hunched further over the railing. "I spoke with your quartermaster, Mr. Silver. Said there wasn't much concern at the moment, as more needed to be done here on the ship."

 _"Your_ quartermaster."

"What?"

"He's your quartermaster now, too."

Ben managed a small smile that was soon followed by a chuckle. "I suppose that's true."

Billy nodded. "And the crew here... We're you're brothers now, too. We're all equal, and we all look out for each other. Which is why I feel the need to tell you.." The man sighed as he tried to collect his thoughts. Fingers drummed lightly against the wood as he measured his next words carefully. "I understand your hesitance about returning to that island. I do. But it you give in to your fears, you will only strengthen them."

"Please don't take offense, Billy, but I don't quite think you understand how I feel.."

"Then help me understand."

The two then spent the rest of the evening in deep conversation. While Ben had told the crew the story of what happened to the rest of his men, how he had managed to escape for two days before being dragged back, he hadn't gone into anything resembling details. Now, however, with Billy's empathetic ear he did. He told him everything. How they had first been rounded up, tortured one by one, until being forced to hard labor. How on the fourth day one of the men took a run for it. The guards were taken by surprise to say the least, and so they all took the opportunity for what it was and scattered to the treeline. He described the screams of his crew mates as they either succumbed to gunfire or plunged to their death in the traps hidden within the forest floor. He wasn't quite sure how he alone had managed to escape. He spent the first night hidden in a shallow cave, only confident enough to move again once the forest had grown quiet from the shouts. Even the bird calls made him stop in his tracks. He drank from streams and ate what plants looked familiar.

Ben grew quiet. Contemplating for a moment before he continued to recount his tale. He had just caught sight of the beach when he was discovered. Though he did his best to fight he was too weak. Something he was sure Billy would understand given their recent misfortune in the storm. When he had all but been dragged back to the camp and thrown into the cage, he realized he was the only one left. And so he waited, unsure of just when and how they were going to kill him, when Flint and his men were shoved into the pen with him.

When Billy tried to convince the man that he could understand at least a portion of what he felt, the nightmares that plagued his dreams, he was scoffed at. And since fair was fair, Billy shared his own story of how he had come to be a part of this crew. How he had lived among civilized society only to be torn from his home and family for little more than a cruel joke. How he spent years imprisoned, knowing not a soul, and forced into hard labor. The man even went a step further. He confided to him the nightmares he had experienced even after he had escaped; how they began to change him. How even now he feared any form of reunion with his family for fear of what they would think of him now.

"You can't allow that fear to take control of you," Billy finished. Ben's gaze had never left his own as he recounted his own story. His expression had remained calm and calculating, his blue eyes piercing, and now did his expression falter. He offered a small nod before Billy gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

Two days later when the crew returned to the Maroon Camp to bed down for the evening, Ben was not far behind.


End file.
